The big news from yesterday's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote was the introduction of iOS 7, which is "the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone," said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The redesign architected by chief designer Jony Ive embraces a more "flat" design; say goodbye to bubbled text messages, for example. But it's still colorful, and moves with you, letting you "look" behind apps, according to Apple. The font, meanwhile, is much slimmer than in previous versions of iOS.

"Installing iOS 7 on your phone is like getting an entirely new phone, but one that you already know how to use [and that is] beautiful and more functional," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering.

It's not all design with iOS 7. There are security updates, shortcuts for easier access to frequently used functions, more full-featured multi-tasking, and a boost to Siri, among other things. After months of rumors, Apple also took the wraps off iTunes Radio, which is more like Pandora than the on-demand listening available via Spotify.

Apple made iOS 7 available to developers yesterday, but it won't be officially released until the fall – likely around the same time Apple reveals its newest iPhone. But iOS 7 will also work on the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5, as well as the fifth-gen iPod touch, and iPad 2, fourth-gen iPad, and iPad mini.

For a closer look at what iOS 7 has to offer, check out the slideshow.

1
Control Center

One of the things the PCMag staff requested in our iOS 7 wish list was easy access to things like airplane mode. We got our wish thanks to Control Center, which provides quick access to airplane mode, flashlight, screen brightness, and more. Just swipe up from the bottom.

2
Notification Center

Swipe from the top, meanwhile, for a revamped Notification Center, which will be accessible from the lock screen in iOS 7. A new feature called Today provides an overview of your day at a glance - from the weather report to birthday reminders.

3
iTunes Radio

It might not be as full-featured as people had hoped, but iTunes Radio embraces the Pandora model - providing users with ad-supported Internet radio. There's music from the big three labels, and iTunes Match subscribers can listen without ads. Create your own stations, purchases songs via iTunes, and peruse songs you listened to in the past via the history section. It'll be available on iOS devices via the music app in iOS 7, via iTunes on the PC and Mac, and via Apple TV. At first, iTunes Radio will only roll out in the U.S. this fall, but Apple promised other markets in the future.

4
Multi-Tasking

iOS 7 revamps multi-tasking, providing a more full-featured look at the apps you have open when you double tap the home button. Scroll through active apps, and - similar to WebOS - dismiss with a swipe up. Apple also promised "smarter" multi-tasking, like making sure frequently used apps are open and ready to go when you normally log in (like Facebook at 9am on weekdays). Updates will also happen automatically during convenient times, like when you're connected to Wi-Fi or plugged in.

5
Siri

Siri is getting a voice makeover in iOS 7. The female version of Siri will sound a bit less robotic, while users can opt for a male Siri. Apple also promised an improved experience on Siri for French and German speakers, with more language improvements coming soon. Meanwhile, Siri on iOS 7 will tap into Bing search rather than Google.

7
iCloud Keychain

Meanwhile, with iCloud Keychain, iCloud will remember your passwords and credit card numbers. Safari can also enter them automatically when you make a purchase on iOS 7 or OS X Mavericks. "Every time you create an account, you can have Safari generate a unique, hard-to-guess password. And remember it for you," according to Apple, which insisted that 256-bit encryption will make iCloud Keychain "highly secure."

9
Safari

Apple said browsing will be "bigger, better, and more beautiful" on iOS 7. That includes full-screen browsing and a new tab view, which you can use to scroll through open tabs - and dismiss with a swipe. There's also a unified search/URL bar, which will auto-suggest websites and search terms. The "Shared Links" view shows a list of shared URLs from your Twitter timeline, while the Reading List section lets you scroll through saved items.

10
AirDrop

AirDrop is a not-quite-NFC tool that lets you share photos, videos, contacts, or other items with people nearby. Hit the "Share" button, select the people with whom you want to share, and hit send. It will be available via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for iPhone 5, iPad (4th generation), iPad mini, and iPod touch (5th generation) and requires an iCloud account.

11
Photos

To help you organize your photos, iOS 7 will group photos that were taken around the same time into separate folders, or Collections, for easier access. Using iCloud, iOS 7 will also allow for shared photo streams, so you can add one of your photos to a friend's collection. Apple has also added filters.

12
iOS in the Car

You might want to hold off on using Apple Maps for your in-car driving directions just yet, but other iOS features - like Siri - will be coming to a number of cars in 2014. With iOS in the Car, in-car dashboards will adopt the iOS interface to safely make phone calls, access your music, send and receive messages, get directions, and more.

13
Weather App

With Yahoo releasing a Flickr-enhanced iOS app that recently won an Apple Design Award, Apple really needed to step up its game with the pre-loaded weather app on iOS. In iOS 7, the weather app will include more animation and easier access to the various cities on which you want to keep tabs.

14
Other Features

As Apple noted with this slide during its WWDC keynote, there are far too many iOS 7 enhancements to highlight in just one speech. The new OS, for example, will allow for high-quality audio calls over Wi-Fi on any iOS device via FaceTime Audio and notification sync across devices.

About the Author

Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe covered financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC and technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's deg... See Full Bio

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